Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to an apparatus for operating an AVN (Audio, Video and Navigation) monitor for a vehicle and, more particularly, to an apparatus for operating an AVN monitor for a vehicle which causes the AVN monitor to be retracted into or extended out of a dashboard.
Description of Related Art
Due to the trend of luxurious cars, a growing number of vehicles are equipped with an AVN (Audio, Video and Navigation) monitor 101 embedded in a center fascia located between driver's compartment and passenger compartment as illustrated in FIG. 1. In addition, the size of the monitor 101 has increased over time to allow a driver to easily grasp information displayed on the monitor 101.
Such a trend of large monitors 101 leads to an increased height H1 of a dashboard, resulting in a crude design and impeding a sense of luxury in the vehicle. Furthermore, the increased height H1 of the dashboard 101 hinders a driver from viewing the front road. Yet furthermore, air from air vents 103 installed at left and right sides of the monitor 101 causes a driver to suffer from cold hands, and the air is unlikely to be smoothly vented because the air flow from the air vents 103 is hindered by a steering wheel.
In order to solve these problems, the following AVN monitor 201 is proposed, it is usually accommodated in a dashboard 202 as illustrated in FIG. 2A, and when the occasion demands, is extended out of the dashboard 202 to protrude from the dashboard 202 as illustrated in FIG. 2B.
With adoption of the structure illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, even when the monitor 201 has an increased size, the dashboard 202 is allowed to have a decreased height H2 so the above-enumerated problems can be solved. That is, a sense of luxury in the design of a vehicle is enhanced and a driver can better see the front road of a vehicle. Moreover, since air vents 203 are installed in a center position of a center fascia, the driver will not suffer from cold hands.
As an example of an operation apparatus for causing the AVN monitor 201 to be retracted into or extended out of the dashboard 202, there is a cable-type operation apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.
FIG. 3 illustrates a state in which the AVN monitor 201 is accommodated in the dashboard 202 and FIG. 4 illustrates a state in which the AVN monitor 201 protrudes from the dashboard 202. Upon operation of a motor 211, a winding roller 212 starts rotating and a cable 213 moves along an idling roller 214 in response to the rotation of the winding roller 212. The cable 214 is connected to an end of a driver arm 215 in a hinged manner, and the other end of the driver arm 215 is connected to a lower end of the monitor 210 in a hinged manner. Accordingly, when the cable 213 moves the driver arm 315 and the monitor 201 also move. When the monitor 201 is moved by the cable 213, a guide bracket 216 of the monitor 201 moves along a guide path 218 formed in a dashboard 217.
When the driver arm 215 is moved by the cable 214 to be positioned at the right side as illustrated in FIG. 3, the AVN monitor 201 is inserted into an accommodation space 219 of the dashboard 217 and remains in a stored state. Conversely, when the driver arm 215 is moved by the cable 213 to be positioned at the left side as illustrated in FIG. 4, the AVN monitor 201 is extended out of the accommodation space 219 so as to protrude from the dash board 217.
Since a conventional operation apparatus uses the cable 213, it generates severe operational noise. In addition, since the cable 213 is made from a material which easily changes in tension with temperature, the AVN monitor 201 cannot be smoothly retracted into or extended out of the dashboard at times. Furthermore, since there is a variation in the amount of operation between the left and right portions of the monitor 201, the monitor 201 shakes sideways while it is moving.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.